Astronomer Dr. Isabel Hawkins's journey to the stars began with two chance moments of enchantment with celestial bodies in her native Argentina. Inspired by the mystery of the sky, she went on to study physics and astronomy in California and then to work for 20 years as a research astronomer at UC Berkeley. Now retired from research and devoted to inciting a love of the stars and sky in young people, Dr. Hawkins reflects on her own initial moments of inspiration, on sharing her love of stars with others, and on how astronomy can, and should, remind us of our connection to one another, under a canopy of mystery.

Which is farthest away from the earth, the stars or Pluto? The answer may be obvious to you, but a lot of people get this wrong. Listen to TI director Linda Shore as she presents a little survey about how things are arranged in the heavens—and explains what the surprising results mean.

Astrophysicist Paul Coleman and expert ocean navigator Kalepa Baybayan visited the Exploratorium as advisors to our Polynesian Navigation project—a large-scale Web resource (launching April 2010) that will feature the astounding navigation practices of the Pacific Islanders, who were expertly navigating the Pacific thousands of years before the arrival of Europeans.
Paul Coleman works at the University of Hawaii Institute for Astronomy, where he concentrates on the large-scale structure of the universe. Kalepa Baybayan is an expert navigator who mentors Hawaiian youth in native navigation practices. Both men are native Hawaiians. We spoke with them about traditional navigation practices, the balance between science and spirituality from a native perspective, and the benefits of being grounded in one’s culture.

Searching for extraterrestrial life: is it telephoning aliens or really complicated math equations? Join Senior Scientist Paul Doherty, NASA Ames planetary Scientist Eric Wegryn, and SETI's Senior Scientist Seth Shostak as they explore how to find planets that could support life. How many of these planets are there? How did we find them? When will we know for sure?

On the occasion of Hubble's 15th birthday we unveil two spectacular mosaic images from the telescope, discuss the amazing accomplishments of Hubble during the past 15 years, and look at some of the images from space.

How can a mathematical equation frame the question of life in the universe? We’ll talk with Frank Drake, one of the founders of the SETI Institute, about his famous equation and how it frames the search for signs of intelligent life in the universe.

Join the Exploratorium's Dr. Paul Doherty as he visits a "sculpture to observe the stars" in northern New Mexico, where the Sangre de Cristo Mountains meet the eastern plains. There artist Charles Ross is creating an art installation that is also a star observatory. This major earthwork has two main elements: the Star Tunnel, which allows you to walk through the entire history of the earth's changing alignment to our North Star, Polaris; and the Solar Pyramid, where one can visually experience an hour of the earth's rotation.

The Advanced Camera for Surveys (ACS) was successfully installed. In preparation for the installation of the NICMOS Cooling System tomorrow, the astronauts also installed the Electronics Support Module. We also talk with Massimo Stiavelli, a scientist at the Space Telescope Science Institute about his involvement with the ACS and the future Wide Field Planetary Camera 3 (WFPC3) scheduled to be installed during the next servicing mission in 2004.

The first-ever live event inside the NASA clean room, where space hardware is being prepared for the Hubble Space Telescope. We'll get dressed in "bunny suits" to explore the room and show you the activities of engineers and scientists getting ready for the next Hubble servicing mission in November.

Webcasts made possible through
the generosity of the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation, The Jim Clark
Endowment for Internet Education, the McBean Family Foundation,.and the Corporation for Educational Networks Initiatives in California (CENIC).